Teachers find success as make-up artists

GONE ARE the days when leaving the classroom to enter a field such as cosmetology would have been frowned on. Instead, trained teachers Shellene Gregory and Debbie Manning have been encouraged, and find that becoming make-up artists has served them well.

Gregory and Manning were finalists in the “Make-up” category of the JN Small Business Loans (JNSBL) Barber and Beauty Battle, recently held at the National Arena in July. Gregory placed first, with Manning finishing second.

“The beauty industry has been underrated and seen as one for persons who are not academically inclined. But many of us in the field are qualified, academically, and we have chosen to be beauticians because we love what we do,” said Gregory, a former visual arts teacher.

Gregory has been a full-time make-up artist since 2015 after teaching at Vere Technical in Clarendon. She fell in love with make-up as a child when she saw her mother applying eyeliner and other cosmetics.

“The classroom was not for me. I realised that I did not enjoy the formal working environment,” Gregory said. “After two years, I resigned, trained as a make-up artist, and I have been working in the sector ever since.”

Her family supported her decision, and her sister was one of her models during the JNSBL Barber and Beauty Battle.

“My family gave their approval from the day I made the decision, and they continue to support me by referring clients to me,” Gregory related, adding that her clients range in age mostly between 18 and 50.